Cocktails with Nick: Mojito

Fresh out of Havana comes one of my all-time favourites. The Mojito has a unique flavour, sweet and fresh, yet deep and mellow at the same time. It is rum based, and everyone has their favourite. I like Morgan’s Spiced Rum, as it has a kick, and the spices add layers to the flavour.

So you start with a nice thick based glass. You also need a muddler stick. If you don’t have one, just use the end of a rolling pin. And a bar spoon. Right, that’s the kit.

For the ingredients you need:

Rum. I recommend Appleton’s, Havana Club or Morgan’s Spiced. Bacardi, at a stretch.

Sticky brown sugar, nice and dark.

Fresh mint, nice big leaves

Fresh limes

Ice for crushing

A mixer, such as 7up or sugar syrup

Take a nice, wide, thick-based glass and, using the bar spoon, add a spoonful of brown sugar. The darker and stickier, the better. Add four or five large mint leaves. Carefully crush the mint into the sugar, this releases the flavour. Cut a lime into wedges and add three to the glass. Now crush them in too.

Add the rum, and we are talking 50ml as a bare minimum. Make it 70ml, what the hell. And stir well.

Take some ice cubes and crush them into tiny little pieces. Pour them into the glass. Decorate the edge of the glass with a wedge of lime placed over the ice and a few mint leaves arranged in a fan shape around the edge.

Enjoy, amigos.
Hasta Manana

Words & photos by chef Nick Gilmartin who can be contacted on @Nick1975 or find out more here. #ChefsTable